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Taking our chances

Published: Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 10:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 10:12 p.m.

Aaron Hernandez is not the first professional athlete to run into legal trouble.

Not by a long shot.

The case surrounding the New England Patriots tight end’s alleged involvement in a slaying, though, has drawn widespread media coverage to the sports world’s intersection with the seedy underbelly of criminal law.

It is in this realm that we watch as armies of talking heads and armchair lawyers camp out behind courthouses or jails, awaiting the arrival or departure of the latest sports celebrity to trade in the back of his limousine for the back of a police cruiser.

That part of the story is important. Of course, it matters what Hernandez or some other star pleads. It matters what charges the district attorney files and all the rest.

That isn’t the whole story, though, is it?

The real story is how far into the pool of legal issues the NFL and even college teams are willing to wade to net the next superstar.

The fact that the Patriots would turn a blind eye to so many warning signs from the time Hernandez was allegedly involved in bar fights while he was enrolled in the University of Florida is yet another testament, superfluous though it may be, to the fact that just because a person can throw or catch or kick or hit a ball exceptionally well does not mean he is suited to be a role model.

You need look no farther than Baton Rouge for numerous recent examples of signs of trouble being ignored in the hopes that an athlete can contribute to a team.

The nation watched in shock as former LSU Tiger defensive back Tyrann Mathieu all but threw away a promising football career.

NFL fans watched again as the Arizona Cardinals threw caution to the wind a few months ago and drafted Mathieu, paying little heed to all the trouble he created while at LSU.

If New England has learned a lesson, it so far seems lost on the Cardinals and lost on LSU.

Such is the pressure to win, I suppose, that LSU is willing to take what it can get.

That seems to be the message Tiger fans and other observers get from the team’s attachment to running back Jeremy Hill.

Hill was already on probation when he was allegedly involved in a melee outside a Baton Rouge bar in April.

The probation was the result of a conviction back in 2012 on a charge of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Don’t worry, though. He now has a strict curfew that requires him to be in from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and bans the 20-year-old star running back from frequenting bars.

If he holds true to the new conditions of his probation, he will not be in any more bars. That is good. His attorney has said his latest run-in with the law was at least partially the result of his being heckled about his relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18.

If he stays out of bars, perhaps he will be less likely to hear provocative talk like that.

The rest of us, though, are left to wonder why the state’s flagship academic institution is so eager to attract and keep people who might fly into fits of physical violence at the mere mention of prior crimes.

It is no secret. They have to do it if they want to win.

Or do they?

Is there no one on this side of the criminal divide who could perhaps run the ball for LSU and do just as well as young Mr. Hill? Was there no one better suited than Mr. Mathieu to team competition and discipline who could return punts for the Tigers?

Perhaps adhering to some sort of personal conduct standard would make recruitment a little more difficult, but what might the payoff be? Fewer offseason headlines? Lower legal bills? Fewer late-night calls from lockup?

At some point, as the Hernandez case illustrates, college and pro sports teams simply cannot protect athletes from themselves. But is it too much to expect those teams to protect us from the people they are all too willing to recruit and employ?

Editorial Page Editor Michael Gorman can be reached at 448-7612 or by email at mike.gorman@dailycomet.com.

<p>Aaron Hernandez is not the first professional athlete to run into legal trouble.</p><p>Not by a long shot.</p><p>The case surrounding the New England Patriots tight end's alleged involvement in a slaying, though, has drawn widespread media coverage to the sports world's intersection with the seedy underbelly of criminal law.</p><p>It is in this realm that we watch as armies of talking heads and armchair lawyers camp out behind courthouses or jails, awaiting the arrival or departure of the latest sports celebrity to trade in the back of his limousine for the back of a police cruiser.</p><p>That part of the story is important. Of course, it matters what Hernandez or some other star pleads. It matters what charges the district attorney files and all the rest.</p><p>That isn't the whole story, though, is it?</p><p>The real story is how far into the pool of legal issues the NFL and even college teams are willing to wade to net the next superstar.</p><p>The fact that the Patriots would turn a blind eye to so many warning signs from the time Hernandez was allegedly involved in bar fights while he was enrolled in the University of Florida is yet another testament, superfluous though it may be, to the fact that just because a person can throw or catch or kick or hit a ball exceptionally well does not mean he is suited to be a role model.</p><p>You need look no farther than Baton Rouge for numerous recent examples of signs of trouble being ignored in the hopes that an athlete can contribute to a team.</p><p>The nation watched in shock as former LSU Tiger defensive back Tyrann Mathieu all but threw away a promising football career.</p><p>NFL fans watched again as the Arizona Cardinals threw caution to the wind a few months ago and drafted Mathieu, paying little heed to all the trouble he created while at LSU.</p><p>If New England has learned a lesson, it so far seems lost on the Cardinals and lost on LSU.</p><p>Such is the pressure to win, I suppose, that LSU is willing to take what it can get.</p><p>That seems to be the message Tiger fans and other observers get from the team's attachment to running back Jeremy Hill.</p><p>Hill was already on probation when he was allegedly involved in a melee outside a Baton Rouge bar in April.</p><p>The probation was the result of a conviction back in 2012 on a charge of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile.</p><p>Don't worry, though. He now has a strict curfew that requires him to be in from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and bans the 20-year-old star running back from frequenting bars.</p><p>If he holds true to the new conditions of his probation, he will not be in any more bars. That is good. His attorney has said his latest run-in with the law was at least partially the result of his being heckled about his relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18.</p><p>If he stays out of bars, perhaps he will be less likely to hear provocative talk like that.</p><p>The rest of us, though, are left to wonder why the state's flagship academic institution is so eager to attract and keep people who might fly into fits of physical violence at the mere mention of prior crimes.</p><p>It is no secret. They have to do it if they want to win.</p><p>Or do they?</p><p>Is there no one on this side of the criminal divide who could perhaps run the ball for LSU and do just as well as young Mr. Hill? Was there no one better suited than Mr. Mathieu to team competition and discipline who could return punts for the Tigers?</p><p>Perhaps adhering to some sort of personal conduct standard would make recruitment a little more difficult, but what might the payoff be? Fewer offseason headlines? Lower legal bills? Fewer late-night calls from lockup?</p><p>At some point, as the Hernandez case illustrates, college and pro sports teams simply cannot protect athletes from themselves. But is it too much to expect those teams to protect us from the people they are all too willing to recruit and employ?</p><p>Editorial Page Editor Michael Gorman can be reached at 448-7612 or by email at mike.gorman@dailycomet.com.</p>